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THE ICSID AMENDMENTS: ANALYSING THE CHANGES TO THE ARBITRATION RULES AND WHAT THEY ENTAIL FOR CAPITAL IMPORTERS AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

—Yash Sameer Joshi

The full chapter may be found by clicking on the PDF link to the left.

The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes [“ICSID”] has been a monolith in the field of investment arbitration. However, one concern that has been perpetual regarding this institution is its general lean towards western capital exporters. Recently, on the 21st of March, 2022, the member countries assented to certain amendments in the rules which were ushered in through the six working papers. This article primarily looks at how these amendments, especially in the arbitration rules, will affect investment arbitration in developing countries with regards to the ICSID.

In lieu of this, the article has been divided into three main parts, excluding the introduction, conclusion, and ancillary sections. First, the article briefly summarises the amendments brought about in the ICSID Arbitration Rules of the Centre and the Additional Facility Rules. Second, the article analyses the tentative impact that these amendments will have on how ICSID arbitration is approached from the perspective of developing countries and non-contracting parties. Third, the article proposes tentative changes that may be made to the amendments to further balance the scales between capital importers and exporters. The article concludes by acknowledging that, while not perfect, the amendments come as a positive development, with respect to ICSID Arbitration, especially for capital importers and developing countries.

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